


The Pact

by MiladyDragon



Series: Dragon-Verse Series One [6]
Category: Torchwood
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon, Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Angst, Dragon-Verse, F/M, Horror, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-06-11
Updated: 2012-06-11
Packaged: 2017-11-07 11:46:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 22,024
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/430790
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MiladyDragon/pseuds/MiladyDragon
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The Fae are ready to claim a new Chosen One.  Jack wants to stop them; Estelle wants to understand them.  Only Ianto stands between them and disaster.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Pact

_**25 October 2007** _

 

_**  
**_

"Ianto! Please, come in!"

Estelle Cole smiled up at him, holding the door open so the dragon could enter. Ianto returned her smile; she was quite one of his favorite ephemerals, with a true love and respect for the world and its creatures.

She ushered him into the lounge. "It's been a while! Can I get you some tea?"

"Please," he said, sitting on the sofa. Moses, Estelle's cat, promptly jumped up to join him, curling up in his lap and purring like a freight train. Ianto rubbed him somewhat vigorously, and Moses purred even louder. "I'm sorry I haven't been around much lately…"

Estelle bustled about, and he could hear the sound of tea things rattling in the small kitchen. "That's fine," she answered, her voice raised a bit to be heard from the other room. "I know Torchwood can keep you busy."

Ianto grinned. Estelle Cole was one of the sharpest people he knew; she'd picked up on his and Jack's involvement with Torchwood almost immediately. And he wasn't going to get into her seeing through Jack's story about being his own father. How Jack had thought that would work was beyond the dragon.

"Actually," Ianto admitted, as Estelle re-entered the lounge with the tea tray, "something happened a while back. It's…taken me some time to get things sorted. In fact, I've been home for the last four weeks. I just got back yesterday."

Estelle looked at him closely. "I see…there are shadows in your eyes."

"I found another of my kind." He told her everything about finding Lisa, and what had happened, as they drank tea together and ate Estelle's wonderful almond cake.

"Oh, Ianto," she murmured, as his story came to a close. "How terrible." She got up from her own chair to join him on the sofa, putting her arm around him in an effort to comfort him.

Ianto accepted it, leaning into her embrace. He remembered the first time he'd met her; she'd played along with Jack's story about how he and Ianto worked together and had just been in the neighborhood, until the captain had left the room to use the loo. Then Estelle had calmly leaned over and told Ianto that she could tell that he wasn't human, and that he could trust her. He'd ended up confiding in her on his next visit, when he'd come without Jack. They'd been great friends ever since.

They sat that way for a couple of minutes, and then Ianto leaned away. "Thank you," he said, kissing her on the forehead.

"No need to thank me," she replied, going back to her seat. "What are friends for? But I don't understand why you didn't at least trust Jack with this. He'd have helped."

Ianto flinched. He really didn't want to speak ill of Jack to Estelle, but if anyone knew he faults, it was her. "Things haven't been that good between us for a while now. I…lost my trust in him."

Estelle narrowed her eyes. "Jack's been an idiot again, hasn't he?"

That made the dragon laugh. "Well, he wasn't the only one."

"Yes, but it seems to me you were only reacting to his stupidity."

"He's so frustrating! I just don't know where I stand with him."

"Ianto," Estelle said, sighing. "Jack cares a great deal for you. The problem is, he's afraid to. Now, I understand why he's like that with us mortals, but he shouldn't be that way with you. It could be that he's just not used to having someone around who might live as long as he will; or there could be something else going on, but I do know that he does care."

Once again, Ianto was struck by just how wise Estelle was. "You know, you should have been a dragon."

"Now that is the highest compliment you could give me!"

They both laughed, the dragon savoring his friendship with the woman. He'd seen almost at once why Jack loved her; she was so full of brightness and life, it was like being a moth drawn to her flame. "Anyway, I'll deal with things when I see him," Ianto went on.

"You haven't let him know you're back in town yet?"

"No, I wanted to get settled back in at the house first. I'm actually not due back to work until Monday. And, to be honest, while Jack and I have talked a couple of times over my leave, I'm…a bit hesitant to see him face to face, if you know what I mean."

"Of course I do. Look, I'm giving a talk Saturday. Why don't you help me out?" Her eyes sparkled. "You might even know the subject."

Ianto looked at her closely. "Let me guess: fairies?"

Estelle smiled. "You know me so well."

The dragon barely stifled a sigh. Estelle thought she knew what the Fae – or fairies – were, but she had about as much a clue as Jack had. Both of them saw the Fae in black and white terms, and Ianto knew it was much more than that. The Fae were a part of the warp and weft of the world, and were above such petty distinctions. But trying to get either one of them to see that…sometimes, when she and Jack had gotten into one of their 'discussions' about the fairies, Ianto had felt like he was trapped between two debaters who each had only half the facts, and who were determined not to believe what the other was saying.

But Ianto knew. His father had dealt with the Fae, and had passed on stories and lessons of the Lost Lands where the Fae were known to dwell.

"I saw them," Estelle went on, "in Roundstone Wood. They were dancing among the stones there." Her eyes were shining as she recalled the sight. "They were glowing, and their laughter was so joyous, they made me want to join them."

A shiver went down Ianto's spine, and his hand reflexively tightened in Moses' fur, causing the cat to meow plaintively. The dragon relaxed, and the pet went back to purring. "Estelle," he said slowly, "please promise me you'll be careful around them."

She rolled her eyes. "You're as bad as Jack."

_No, you are_ , he wanted to say to her. Why neither one of them could understand what Ianto tried to tell them, he didn't know. "I'm just concerned, that's all."

"You don't need to be." She smiled sweetly. "I have new pictures, which I'll be debuting at my next lecture. Please say you'll come."

"Of course I will." He had no choice, really.

* * *

Darkness was gathering by the time Ianto had managed to make it to Roundstone Wood. He parked his car on a side street, heading into the wood without even a flashlight, knowing his sharper sight would serve him just as well.

If the Fae were active once more, there could only be one reason for it.

He strode through the trees, letting his senses guide him. Humans were limited in what they could feel; their sensations were grounded in the physical world. But for those few ancient races left – including dragons – the wood fairly breathed power: an ancient power, one that predated humans settling the land, predating even the separating of the continents hundreds of millions of years ago. Roundstone Wood was only the latest expanse to have grown up in this place, but it was so very old, the trees fairly whispering their secrets to Ianto as he made his way unerringly toward the center of this place's magic.

Jack scoffed at the idea of magic, resorting to Clarke's Law to explain such things that defied scientific explanation. Ianto had looked it up after the captain had used it the first time, and it had been Ianto's turn to scoff. Certainly he could understand what Arthur C. Clarke was referring to, and the dragon could also understand that there could very well be times when a technology would, indeed, be so far advanced as to seem like magic.

But there were still things in the universe that were so old, so powerful, and yet technology had nothing to do with them. There, under the darkening canopy of Roundstone Wood, Ianto could feel such a power, lying just beneath the surface of things, as if the physical world were simply a layer over the top of it, hiding it from view.

The Lost Lands.

The stones came into view, practically glowing in his minds' eye with the magic of Creation. His surroundings changed as he grew closer, as man transformed into dragon so did the land transform around him; from fire to ice, from sea to desert, from grass to forest. Ianto shook his wings free as he passed through all the long eons of the Earth, approaching stones that had been set by strong hands deep into the bedrock of the planet itself. This was a place where all times existed together, and the dragon felt Time shower against his scales like a golden rain.

He could see them. They perched in the trees, on huge chunks of glacial ice, floating on sea and riding the lava of now-vanished volcanoes. The Fae, darting half-hidden among tall grass and buried within deep sand, living in all times just as this piece of the ancient world did. They watched him approach the stones, glittering eyes trying to read his soul, to know his mind. He easily kept them out, his dragons' mind labyrinthine to them.

" _Why come you here, old one?"_

A larger Fae crouched atop one of the stones, and the dragon stopped before it, bowing his head in greeting. "I come to remind the Fae of the ancient Pact between your people and mine."

Laughter like dried leaves met his words. _"The Pact is gone and dust, just as your people are gone and dust. Do not bother us with this. Leave our lands."_

"The Pact exists as long as there is one of my kind, and one of yours," the dragon answered. "I call upon you to honor it."

" _What can one lone dragon-kin do to threaten us to uphold the Pact?"_ the Fae challenged.

The dragon arched his back, spreading his wings. He raised his head, speaking in the ancient language of earth and stone and power. The ground shook as the words were said, and the Fae shrieked in dismay.

"Do you seriously ask that question?" he replied, settling back on his haunches.

The large Fae hissed. _"The ancient tongue is dead, but we still obey. Name them."_

The dragon's heart began to beat faster as he recited. "Owen Harper. Toshiko Sato. Kathy Swanson. Gwen Cooper." He hoped they didn't notice his slight hesitation in Naming Gwen. "Estelle Cole." That name caused a chattering among the gathered Fae. "Jack Harkness."

Jack's name caused a near-riot among the Fae. _"No!"_ the spokesman shouted. _"Name him not! He yet owes for a lost Chosen!"_

"No, he doesn't," the dragon insisted. Jack had told him the story of his soldiers being killed by the Fae, back in 1909, during one of those times when he'd tried to convince Ianto that he was correct about the fairies. "You have punished those responsible for the death of the Chosen One. Jack Harkness had nothing to do with it."

" _They were his,"_ the Fae snapped.

"But they weren't acting under his orders. I Name him. You must stand by the Pact."

The Fae hissed once more. _"Agreed. And you must stand by the Pact as well. Only one to break it, ancient one. Only one."_

The dragon nodded. "Only one. It is agreed."

He turned and left, passing through the ranks of the gathered Fae, ignoring the looks of hatred he was receiving. They had to stand by the Pact; the power of it left them no choice.

The power faded the farther he walked, and without thinking he reverted back to his human form once more. Ianto made his way toward his car, the feeling of relief tempered by what he'd just done.

Only one.

It was agreed.

* * *

_**27 October 2007** _

 

_**  
**_

Jack jerked awake, the remnants of nightmare – memory – fading back into the mental box he kept such things in. He sat up completely, scrubbing his face roughly with both hands, knowing that if he was having _that_ particular dream once more that something bad was about to happen. He could still remember everything that had happened on that train, still smell the cloying scent of rose petals that overflowed from his mens' open mouths after their deaths; hear the rustling of wings and the soft music of alien laughter. He shivered, and it wasn't the chill of the Hub that had caused it.

He took several deep breaths in an attempt to regain control, and as he focused on his surroundings his heartbeat calmed and the adrenaline rush caused by his sudden catapulting from sleep slowly faded away. _That had been decades ago_ , he tried to convince himself. If they were coming back, this time it would be different.

He wasn't about to get any more sleep, so he got up, showered, and dressed in trousers and t-shirt, not bothering to put on his usual overshirt and braces, knowing he would be alone in the Hub that late…or, according to his watch, that early. He would have committed gross bodily harm to the closest Weevil for a cup of Ianto's coffee, but the dragon wouldn't be back until Monday.

It would be a long weekend.

Sighing, Jack decided that it would be a good time to get some of the paperwork done that he'd let slide since Ianto had gone on leave, so his Second wouldn't be quite so put out with him when he returned. Jack had missed Ianto more than even he'd thought, and couldn't wait to see him again. The couple of times they'd talked on the phone had been friendly, with no uncomfortable silences. Jack had thought about traveling to Ddraig Llyn to visit, but the Rift had kept them all pretty busy, and besides Jack didn't want to bother Ianto, in case he wasn't wanted. He needed to give the dragon space to heal, and not push him.

Jack was determined to fix things between the two. He'd taken the dragon's belief in him for granted, and had ended up losing it. Jack had quickly realized just how much he needed that belief; the dragon had supported him through so much, and he just couldn't see himself carrying on without it.

The first thing he was going to do was come clean about the Doctor.

It terrified Jack. He had no idea how Ianto would react. But, if he was going to try to salvage whatever he could out of their relationship, then he had to tell Ianto that he was going to leave when he could catch up with the Doctor. If Ianto knew what to expect, then he could be better prepared for the changeover.

He rounded his desk, meaning to sit down and get to work…and saw the rose petal.

_They_ were back.

A noise came from outside his office, and Jack turned…to see Ianto standing there, looking as surprised as Jack felt.

"You shouldn't be here," Jack blurted. As soon as the words were out of mouth, he regretted them. He was almost pitifully glad to see the dragon there, dressed in casual slacks and a dark red jumper, holding a file folder.

"Neither should you," Ianto returned, sounding just as surprised. Then his body almost physically jerked. "I mean, you're usually off on a rooftop by this time of the morning."

Of course Ianto would know that. He simply looked at the dragon in man-form, not sure what the smile on his face said, but it was causing Ianto to blush slightly.

Although, if Ianto knew that Jack was prone to being gone this time of the morning, then that would mean he was in the Hub when he'd expected Jack not to be. The captain wasn't sure how to think about that, but it was smothered by the pleasure he was experiencing at being in Ianto's presence once again.

The dragon jerked again, this time actually moving himself toward one of the empty workstations. Ianto's long fingers danced across the keyboard, and he looked puzzled.

Jack joined him, slipping the rose petal into his pocket, and resting a hand on Ianto's back. The dragon tensed, then relaxed, glancing at Jack, then down, and then back to Jack again as if he couldn't make up his mind where he wanted to look. Then he turned back to the terminal.

Jack thought the whole thing was just cute…except that it bothered him that Ianto didn't know how to react to a simple touch.

"What have you got?" Jack asked, rubbing Ianto's back and shoulder, then letting his hand slide down the soft wool of the jumper.

Ianto looked like he didn't want to answer, but he finally sighed and said, "Funny sort of weather patterns."

The bottom of his stomach dropped, and Jack's fingers rubbed the rose petal in his pocket. He'd been right; the dream had foreshadowed that, and the petal hadn't been some innocent thing that had accidentally been left behind by one of the girls.

The fairies were back, and that could mean only one thing.

"You know." It wasn't a question.

Ianto nodded, turning in his seat to look up at Jack, his eyes hooded. "Estelle saw them," he answered. "I was…coming in to confirm."

"You saw Estelle?" Jack was inexplicably disappointed that Ianto hadn't come to see him first after he'd gotten back; but then, what did he expect?

Ianto nodded. "She saw the fairies. In fact, she's having a lecture today on them. I'd have thought she'd have sent you an invitation?"

It was Jack's turn to nod. He hadn't intended on going; it would just be yet one more of Estelle's attempts to convince him that he was wrong about the fairies. "Are you?"

"She asked me to help her. I said I would."

There was something in the dragon's voice that told Jack that that wasn't the only reason he was going. He wanted to press him for information, but the last thing Jack needed was to alienate Ianto any further. He'd let the dragon tell him in his own time.

"Jack," Ianto went on, "I know none of us agree about the Fae, but I honestly think we should stay out of their business. It can only end in disaster."

Jack bristled a bit. He and Ianto – and Estelle, since they only discussed such things when they were all together – had different opinions when it came to the fairies. Jack had been on the receiving end of their capricious wrath, losing his men on that train in Lahore. He'd seen first-hand what they were capable of, and knew they were an implacable enemy.

Estelle only saw the good in them; saw the glowing and dancing and glittering fairies of children's stories. She wouldn't believe they were able to perform evil, and would argue vociferously when Jack would try to explain to her what he'd seen. It didn't help that he couldn't actually come out and give her examples; that would mean disclosing his immortality to her. And, while he'd been perfectly able to do just that with his team – and he still chuckled over Gwen's upset that she no longer had a secret of his to keep to herself – he would never confess it to her. They'd made promises to each other back during the war; promises that Jack could not keep. The very last thing he'd ever wanted to do was to hurt and disappoint her.

And then there was Ianto. The dragon always maintained that he knew more about the fairies than they did, and would often try to get them to see reason. Jack knew that Ianto was much closer to nature than anyone else, but the immortal also knew that the fairies were beyond even that, and felt that Ianto was being nearly as naïve as Estelle was on the subject.

"You know what they want," Jack warned.

"Of course I do!" Ianto answered sharply. "They only become this active when it's time to find their next Chosen One."

"Then you're telling me that I should just let them take some poor kid?"

Ianto's eyes widened at Jack's tone. "You know as well as I that the Fae only take children who want to go with them – "

"They trick them into going with them!"

Ianto stiffened. "And how do you know that, Jack? Hm? How are you so sure that those children don't want to go of their own free will?"

That was the point; Jack didn't really know. But he knew the fairies, knew how powerful they were. "No one could want to go with them voluntarily."

Ianto rolled his eyes. "If that were true, then why aren't they kidnapping children right and left? Why aren't they snatching them off the streets? Tell me, Jack…the Fae are powerful. Why aren't they simply taking what they want?"

"How do we know they aren't?"

"Because," the dragon said slowly, "there wouldn't be a need for a Chosen One."

Jack opened his mouth to answer, but found he couldn't. Ianto was right. Something was keeping the fairies from just taking children whenever they'd wanted. "But that doesn't mean they still aren't somehow tricking impressionable children into going with them."

There was a flicker in Ianto's eyes that Jack didn't want to interpret as disappointment, but his conscience wouldn't let him dismiss it. This wasn't how he'd hoped their first meeting would go. He'd planned on taking Ianto out to dinner, and then to someplace quiet where they could talk.

This wasn't it.

"Look, Ianto," he tried to put things back on an even level. "I know there are things you know that I don't, but I have first-hand experience with the fairies. I know what they're capable of."

Ianto sighed. "And what makes you think I _don't_?" With that, he stood up. "Jack, I've lived for over two thousand years. I've seen things you can only imagine. The dragons have had dealings with the magical folk for so much longer than that. I just wish you'd trust me when I tell you that I know what I'm talking about."

The disappointment was even more obvious now, and Jack would have given anything not to have that look on the dragon's face. "Ianto," he said softly. "I don't believe in magic, you know that."

"I know." The dragon looked tired. "It's a shame. You claim to be such an open-minded individual, and yet you can't accept that there's such a thing as magic. I actually pity you, Jack."

Jack flinched at that. He and Ianto had gone round and round about the possibility of magic, which the immortal simply believed belonged in the realm of superstition. Everything that couldn't be explained by current science, was simply too advanced to be quantified at this time. Telepathy, empathy, and other mental abilities were genetic to certain races, and Jack wasn't unconvinced that dragons and other fantastic creatures weren't just created by advanced races experimenting with less evolved genoforms. Those people who believed that aliens had come to Earth in the far distant past weren't wrong.

The thing was, Ianto thought he was right. Jack couldn't argue with the dragon's personal experiences, only that he was seeing them in a completely different light than what was really true. It was how Ianto was raised; his parents and other sources of learning had been firmly bent toward the phantasmagorical end of the scale. And, while Ianto had taken to the modern world quite easily, and now knew his way around the science and technology that they dealt with every day almost on the same level as Toshiko, there was still that bit of naiveté that the dragon stubbornly refused to put away.

"I need to go home," Ianto went on. "I'm sure I'll see you at Estelle's lecture later."

He really wanted to stop the dragon from leaving. Jack would have given anything to know the right words to smooth things over.

The cog door opened, and Ianto left.

Jack didn't call him back.

Instead, he cursed himself at being such an idiot.

* * *

_**27 October 2007**_

 

_**  
** _

Ianto knew the moment that Jack arrived at the lecture hall.

He'd missed the feeling that being around Jack gave him, and he didn't mean the attraction. No, it was the magic – and wouldn't Jack hate it that Ianto called it that? – that made the captain immortal. Lisa had said that Jack stank of Time, but that wasn't all of it. The sensation was like having a fizzy drink poured directly onto a specific section of his brain, and while it should have been uncomfortable Ianto reveled in it. It gave him a connection to the captain that no one else had.

It wasn't like what he felt from the Rift. No, that was more like a sharp rain on his exposed skin, fading or growing depending on how active the Rift was. In fact, the Rift had been downright quiet since he'd gotten back into Cardiff days ago, and it was nice to ease back into the sensations that he'd lived with for almost seven years.

Feeling Jack now, Ianto wondered how he'd missed him early that morning, when he'd come into the Hub to see if there was any sign of Fae activity. He'd been distracted, surely; being back after nearly a month had felt almost like a homecoming of sorts, although not quite in the way that going home to Ddraig Llyn had been. He really hadn't expected Jack to be there, even though he was well aware of Jack's bunk under his office. Ianto was familiar enough with Jack's habits to know that he enjoyed watching the sun rise from one of the taller buildings in Cardiff, and he'd counted on the captain being gone when he'd come into the Hub that early.

He hadn't quite been ready to see Jack like that.

But even Ianto had to admit, that seeing Jack had felt…good. Even if they'd gotten into a disagreement not five minutes into their first meeting since the dragon had left. He should have expected it, really; bringing up the Fae was the quick way to get into an argument with the immortal, and Ianto hadn't been exactly subtle about it.

He leaned back in the rather uncomfortable chair, listening to Estelle as she spoke about her fairies. Her eyes had brightened considerably at the same time Ianto had sensed Jack's presence, so even if he hadn't been aware of it, Estelle's reaction would have given it away.

"I suppose I'm one of the fortunate few who's been allowed to see our little friends," Estelle was saying, as the photo on her overhead projector changed to show what Ianto knew to be one of the Cottingley glass-plate photos. "And it's been no easy task. One needs to have the patience of a saint and the blind faith of a prophet."

Ianto settled himself a bit more comfortably, looking closely at the picture on the screen. He knew the history of the Cottingley photos, and how they were supposed to have been faked. While the dragon hadn't been there to see events for himself, he sincerely doubted that they were, indeed, manufactured by two little girls.

"But," she went on, "for me the wait was worthwhile."

Estelle changed the photo, and Ianto sat up a bit straighter, recognizing the stones of Roundstone Wood. This must have been one of the new batch Estelle had mentioned to him.

There were obvious lights hovering above the ground. Estelle continued her lecture. "This is my first picture. Not that clear, I know, but the ring of stones can be seen quite clearly."

Another photograph came up, this one as close-up on the lights themselves. It was very blurry, but even Ianto could make out the vague outline of _something_ within the light itself. "Well, of course," his friend said, chuckling a bit self-deprecatingly, "I'm not the world's best photographer, but this little person is just about visible." She smiled happily. "I was so lucky to have seen them, so privileged to witness such a magical moment. Because fairies are shy, you see."

_No, not shy….devious…_ It was obvious that they'd wanted Estelle to see them, or else she never would have gotten that picture. Ianto wondered why…

"But I know in my heart that they're friendly, loving creatures." She turned the projector off. "Thank you."

The audience clapped politely, and the sound of chairs scraping across the hardwood floor accompanied everyone getting up to leave. Ianto also rose, joining Estelle at the table where she'd had her materials set up.

Ianto didn't want to dispel Estelle's romantic fantasy of happy little fairies dancing around toadstool circles, but they were anything but. Yes, they could be friendly…when it suited them. They could also be ruthless and cruel. She simply refused to see the bad on the other side of the good.

Like Jack…who refused to see the good beyond what he thought of as evil.

"That went well, didn't it?" she smiled, beginning to clear away her lecture notes. Estelle looked to the side, and Ianto didn't even need to see to know that Jack had joined them.

"Estelle, when did you take these?" Jack asked, taking a look at the new photos.

Ianto wanted to roll his eyes, since he'd been the one to tell Jack just when their friend had seen the fairies, but he refrained. He recognized Jack's 'nice interrogator' voice, and decided to see where the questioning was going to go.

"A couple of nights ago," she answered.

"Where?"

"In Roundstone Wood." Estelle looked at the captain fondly. "It's so good to see you again, Jack. You need to come round more."

That earned her a small smile. "You're right. It's just been a bit busy lately."

Ianto went about helping Estelle gather her things together, as Jack examined the new photos. He didn't look happy, but Ianto knew that was par for the course for him on this particular subject.

Estelle, though, didn't seem at all perturbed by Jack's obvious disapproval. "Oh Jack, if only you'd seen them, there in the wood. They were happy. They were dancing. The fairy lights were shining." There was such a look of rapture on her face that it almost made Ianto wish that he didn't know what he did.

"Do you have any more photos?" Jack asked.

"Yes, at home."

Jack gave her a small, intimate smile. Ianto suddenly had a small flash of jealousy, that he couldn't get that sort of expression out of the immortal. He quashed it back down; this was Estelle, after all. Besides, he had no right to be jealous of anyone in the captain's affections.

"I'll need to see them all, Estelle."

She nodded, matching his smile with one of her own.

* * *

Jack helped Ianto unload all of Estelle's equipment from the trunk of Ianto's car. Jack hadn't said much on the trip, and Ianto was a bit frustrated by the silence. Not that he expected Jack to say much of anything beyond casual conversation, but he hadn't spoken maybe two words to the dragon while keeping his questioning of Estelle soft and gentle.

Ianto leaned the fold-up projector screen against the wall, narrowly avoiding being tripped by Moses as the cat came out to greet them. He leaned over and picked up the cat, who proceeded to start up his motor-like purring.

Jack set the projector down on the table, juggling the books he'd also carried in until he got them stacked at least halfway neatly. Estelle had her own bag, which she put on the sofa. She smiled at them. "Thank you, both of you. Let me get those photos, although they're mostly just of the area." She collected Moses from Ianto. "Come on, darling. It's quite time you went outside." She bustled off, leaving Jack and Ianto alone.

The dragon gravitated toward the mantle, where the picture of Jack and Estelle had pride of place. He remembered the first time he'd seen it, and Jack's comment about it being his father. Ianto had known the truth, but it wasn't until Estelle had declared that she knew differently as well that the dragon had admitted she was right. He'd once encouraged her to tell Jack the truth, but she'd demurred, saying that if Jack wanted her to think that it had been his father all those years ago, then she wasn't going to disavow him of that.

"Ianto," Jack said hesitantly, "I – "

"That didn't take long, did it?" Estelle came back into the room, holding a sheaf of glossies. "Here you go. Like I said, there really isn't anything on them, but you're welcome to them."

Jack took them. "Promise me you'll be careful, Estelle. If anything happened to you – "

"Nothing's going to happen to me, Jack," she scoffed.

"You can't know that. They're dangerous."

"Jack, you only see the bad – "

"And you only see the good!"

"And you're both wrong," Ianto put in quietly, looking at both of them. "You're both so focused on what you've seen, that you won't look below the surface. " He turned to Jack. "Jack, you see bad, because your experiences have colored your perspective." Then to Estelle. "And you only the good, but that's what they want you to see. Why can't either of you accept that there are more to the Fae that meets your very mortal eyes?" He used the word 'mortal' on purpose, even though Jack wasn't that, not anymore. Yet he still relied on very mortal senses, and what those senses told him.

"It's not that I don't believe you, Ianto," Jack said delicately. "It's just that you haven't seen – "

Ianto felt his anger overwhelm him. He was so tired of this, especially when so much was riding on them taking his words to heart. "Seen? Jack Harkness, I'm over two thousand years old. I've seen things you wouldn't understand, or dismiss if you _had_ seen them simply because you'd think they were impossible. The Fae and dragons have had dealings since the first humans climbed down from the trees and thought killing each other with branches over pretty looking stones was a really good idea. I know what I'm talking about, Jack…do you?"

He said that last part with a bit more venom than he'd planned, and took a perverse pleasure out of seeing Jack flinch. He turned to Estelle, his expression softening. "I know what you've seen, but anything can hide behind a pleasant façade. They don't have any reason to hurt you now, but what you don't understand is that their good will can change in a split second, if they think harming you would get them what they wanted. At the moment, it pleases them to show themselves as the friendly creatures you believe them to be, but trust me…you cannot go on that appearance alone."

Ianto speared them both with his gaze, letting his eyes gain their dragon aspect. "You have no idea what's at stake here, neither of you. You're both so sure you're right, that you don't realize what you're seeing are actually two sides of the same coin. And that sort of thinking is dangerous. I don't mean dangerous in getting someone killed, although it may come to that. No, I mean end of the world dangerous. You're both meddling in something without even accepting that you could very well be wrong."

With that, Ianto spun on his heel and stormed out into the garden. He needed to get away from the atmosphere inside, even though he'd been the one to create that atmosphere in the first place. It was at times like this that he wondered just how humanity had managed to survive the way it had, because it certainly seemed to have the instincts of lemmings when it came to personal safety.

A tinkling laughter cooled his anger in a way nothing else could. Ianto looked, and saw the large Fae from the Wood looking at him, dark eyes glittering gleefully. _"They'll break it, ancient one,"_ the being taunted. _"They'll break it, and break your mighty heart."_

Ianto snorted. "I already know I'm supposed to get my heart broken, so you're not exactly telling me something new." He automatically dropped into the dragon-tongue, knowing that neither Jack nor Estelle would have been able to see his 'visitor' and not wanting them to eavesdrop, thinking he was talking to himself. The last thing he needed was for either of them to think he'd gone mad.

" _The Seer,"_ The Fae spat. _"You cannot trust her."_

"And I'm supposed to trust you?"

The Fae laughed again. _"Of course not. But you know one of them will break it, and when that happens – "_

"I know of no such thing," Ianto spat. "You cannot hurt them."

" _We don't have to hurt them."_

With that, the Fae vanished.

Ianto closed his eyes. He had to make them understand, or else what the Fae claimed would come true.

He couldn't risk the Pact being broken.

He had to do whatever it took for that not to happen.

* * *

_**27 October 2007** _

 

_**  
**_

The silence in the car was very uncomfortable, and Jack knew he was to blame.

After Ianto's little blow-up at Estelle's, Jack and his former lover had simply stared at each other in the dragon's wake, uncertain of what to say. Ianto had actually made some valid points, and while Estelle might have been willing to brush the dragon's tantrum off – although there was nothing in her manner that suggested she would – Jack had considered what Ianto had said.

It made sense.

It wasn't quite enough to shake Jack's certainty that the fairies were evil. Intellectually, he knew he was painting an entire race with the same brush, but not having seen any actual good from the fairies it was hard to break the habit of a very long time. Plus, there was their taking of children, and Jack had enough of that in his own past not to let it happen again if he could stop it.

He glanced over at Ianto. The dragon's hands were grasping the steering wheel tightly, his knuckles white with the pressure. He was staring straight ahead at the road, his eyes darting a glance every once in a while into the rearview mirror, but otherwise Ianto completely ignored Jack's presence in the passenger seat.

Jack actually opened his mouth twice to speak, but each time stopped himself, the words not at all what he wanted to say. He really wanted to understand where Ianto's knowledge came from, and a part of him was disgusted that he'd disregarded the dragon yet again. He was beginning to really wonder why Ianto was still there.

Somehow Ianto must have sensed Jack's inability to come up with a safe subject, because after about ten minutes he said, "I apologize for letting my temper get the better of me."

"There's no need to apologize," Jack was quick to say. "I think you must have wanted to say all that for a while, now."

Ianto nodded. "I don't understand, Jack. You're aware that there are things I know that you don't, and you've never been shy about using my knowledge before. Why is this time different?"

"It's just…" Jack swallowed. He decided honesty was the best policy in this case. "I still see them, Ianto; my men, lying in that boxcar, choked to death on rose petals. It happened so quickly, I didn't even have a chance to protect them…"

"You couldn't have," the dragon sighed. "The Fae are very protective of their own. The moment your men killed their Chosen – even though it was an accident – they were marked for vengeance." Ianto paused, chewing his lip, looking as if he were considering something. Then he nodded slightly. "Let me ask you this: have you ever wondered why the Fae choose to ask children to join them?"

Jack hadn't really. He just knew the fairies took innocents with them, and it never crossed his mind that there would be a reason beyond just plain evil. He said so.

Ianto sighed. Jack thought he was about to get another lecture of how he wasn't seeing all sides when Ianto pulled the car to the side of the road, and turned off the engine. The dragon twisted in his seat, to look at Jack directly. "A little over 30,000 years ago, the Earth began to get colder. At first it wasn't so bad, and by the time the races on the planet realized that the northern ice was growing it was too late to really prepare for it."

Jack nodded. He was well aware of Earth's glacial periods, and wondered just what this had to do with the fairies.

"This really didn't affect us dragons all that much; you know how the temperature doesn't bother me at all." Jack did, and nodded once more. "But to the humans…it could have been a disaster to them. Most migrated to the south, but with the ice came drought in the southern climates. Several offshoots of humanity – like the so-called Neanderthals – finally did become extinct." He sighed. "Even then, the more advanced human ancestors knew of the powers beyond. There were entire tribes who were dragon-friends, and it was one of those tribes who asked a dragon what they could do to survive. That dragon told them of the Fae, who could control the weather and perhaps fight off the ice that was slowly taking over the entire planet."

Jack shivered. He suddenly had a feeling what was coming next, and when Ianto finally spoke he knew he'd been right.

"That was when the humans and the Fae entered into a Pact," the dragon said. "You have to understand something Jack: before science, there was much power in the natural world. I call it magic, but perhaps you might know it as something else, and it might make you more comfortable in calling it that. But power it was, and when a Pact is entered into it is made binding with that natural power. "

Jack didn't want to hear anymore. It was obvious what those early humans had promised the fairies for their help in saving their race. He didn't believe in magic, but he did understand the power that Ianto was talking about. He'd never considered it magical, though.

"The Pact was a simple one: The Fae would help to beat back the ice, and the humans would let them take certain children. Mostly these were abandoned ones, or abused by their elders. The Fae don't harm them; in fact, they actually cherish them more than the ones they're taken from. But yes, Jack…humanity gave the Fae their permission to do this. It's not the capricious desires of an ancient race picking on a younger one; this was what the humans agreed to. And they bound all generations in perpetuity to this Pact. The Fae have every right to do what they're doing."

It was insane, and Jack didn't want to believe it. And yet, it made sense in a twisted sort of way. "And what happens if the Pact is ever broken?"

Ianto sighed, looking incredibly tired. "Destruction on a massive scale. Perhaps even global, to match the near-destruction from the glaciers. An eye for an eye, Jack. Break the Pact, and the world pays. And it was humanity itself that made this deal. There's literally no way to fight it."

Jack couldn't accept that. He wanted to save the current Chosen One, like he wasn't able to save the children he himself had once sacrificed. "There has to be a way."

"I'm sorry Jack, but your own race made this Pact, and the Fae made certain they couldn't renege without catastrophic repercussions."

"You said the dragons pointed those primitive humans to the fairies," Jack said, almost accusingly.

"Yes, we did."

"So…what was in it for them? Why did they even suggest such a thing?" Jack needed to understand. If he admitted to himself, it was that he needed someone to blame for this mess, and a rather large part of him didn't want to even consider that humanity had had any clue as to what they were doing.

Ianto must have realized that, because he turned away, slumping down into the driver's seat, not looking at Jack any longer. "My people wanted to save their friends. Nothing more."

"That was it?" Jack asked disbelievingly.

The dragon turned back, his eyes so horribly ancient. Jack wondered vaguely if his own eyes would look like that some day. "They were dragon-friends. By our own Pact with them, it was our duty to do whatever we could to save them."

"Wait." Jack shook his head, not quite understanding that. "You say the dragons wanted to save these so-called dragon-friends, and yet they were human…so why not save these Chosen Ones?"

"One can only become a dragon-friend by Naming them in front of a gathering of dragons. If that isn't possible, then Naming them to the race with whom the Pact is made is the next best thing."

"And these children weren't Named."

"No. They would have been unNamed. And before you ask…no, they cannot be Named after being Chosen. "

It boggled Jack's mind, what Ianto was telling him. He really wanted to doubt the truth of it all, but he knew he couldn't. Although he sometimes didn't seem like it, he really did trust the dragon. Here, he'd thought Ianto had just been naïve about the fairies, but it seemed to be the opposite. "But…what if someone who made this so-called Pact with the fairies decided to stop a Chosen One from going to them?"

Ianto shook his head. "The Pact was made on behalf of all humanity. I know it sounds high-handed, but it was to save your species. Do you have any idea how lucky this world was when the Fae decided only to take out their revenge on your men, for the death of that child in 1909? They could easily have spread destruction across the entire planet. I'm not making light of your loss, Jack," he rushed to reply as Jack opened his mouth to speak. "Far from it, I swear. But you must see now that stopping the Fae is something we cannot do. To even try would break the Pact…could cause all human-kind to be wiped out."

So…it was a choice between a child and the entire planet. Jack hated to be put back into this situation all over again. It had been bad enough back in 1965…but to be forced to do it again, it made him feel like a monster.

"Jack, please," Ianto pleaded. The captain had never quite heard that tone from the dragon before. "Please say we'll let this lie. Is it really worth it if it causes the end of your humans?"

Jack sat back, thinking. Ianto was right, if that would indeed happen if they stopped the fairies from getting their Chosen One. It was just a surprise hearing it from the dragon; not long ago he'd been in a snit about all humans, and now he was practically begging Jack to save them. "This is a new tune for you. About humanity, that is."

Ianto smirked slightly. "I've had a month to be around ephemerals who weren't scheming, manipulative, uncaring arses. It's…given me a bit of perspective, I suppose. Besides, there are quite a few humans out there worth saving. I'd just…lost sight of that. All I could see was what a few had done to one of my kind, and I couldn't get past that."

Before he even knew what he was doing, Jack had reached over and taken Ianto's hand in his. "I really am sorry about Lisa," he murmured.

The dragon squeezed Jack's hand. "I know. And I'm sorry I didn't tell you about her before it was too late."

Jack shook his head. "No, I understand why you didn't." He smiled sadly. "I really want to make that up to you, but the first thing I do when you get back is argue with you."

That got him a chuckle. "Story of our time together, Jack. The disagreements seem to outweigh the agreements sometimes."

"Ianto, I'm also sorry for not listening to you. It's just…" Jack sighed. He was going to have to come clean about his unwillingness to sacrifice yet another child for the good of the planet. "Back in 1965, I was ordered to give twelve children to an alien race in order to prevent a particularly virulent strain of flu from wiping out a rather large segment of Earth's population."

Ianto looked shocked. "Who asked you? Torchwood?"

"And the British Government. I hated doing it, and it ate away at me for a long time. So, when the fairies started back up again…"

"I understand." Ianto squeezed his hand again. "Making sacrifices is always hard, especially when it's an innocent. But trust me when I say, that whoever the Fae have Chosen will want to go with them. It's not coercion, and in many ways they'll be going to a better place. I wouldn't lie to you about that, Jack."

Jack nodded. He was so very glad that Ianto was accepting of what he'd done; it made the knowledge of that time a little easier to bear. Still it was hard…

But no. He was the Captain. He had to make the tough decisions.

"Let's get back to the Hub," Jack said, giving Ianto's hand one final squeeze before releasing it, to let the dragon start the car up and pull it back into traffic.

Jack knew what he had to do.

* * *

_**27 October 2007** _

 

_**  
**_

Ddraig Llyn might have been home, but when Ianto walked into the Hub with Jack, it was like he was rejoining his family.

He was barely past the cog door when he suddenly found himself with an armful of Toshiko Sato. Ianto couldn't help but grin as he hugged her back. They'd talked a couple of times during his leave, but seeing his friend again warmed Ianto's heart. He'd missed her, almost as much as he'd missed Jack.

Tosh pulled away slightly, just enough to look up at him. "You're never leaving again, got that?" she teased, her own grin a mirror of his.

"Yes, ma'am," he answered, his grin turning into a genuine smile.

"Looks like Mum and Dad are back together," Owen snarked, coming up from the autopsy bay to join them.

Ianto raised an eyebrow. "And just who are you calling Mum, Owen?"

The medic smirked. "Harkness, of course…the way he swans around the place…"

"Oi!" Jack exclaimed. "I do not 'swan' anywhere!"

"Well," the dragon said, completely deadpan, "you do, just a bit."

Jacks pout set them all to laughing.

"Meeting in the boardroom in five minutes," the captain said, moving past the group at the door and into the Hub proper. "Get the welcomes out of the way, people. We have work to do."

Ianto pulled out of Tosh's embrace. "I suppose you all would want coffee?"

Owen looked almost pitifully relieved. "Do you even have to ask, Dragon Boy?"

"Excuse me….Dragon Boy?" Ianto couldn't hide his astonishment. He was, of course, used to Owen calling him Tea Boy, but this was new.

"Well, you are!"

"You've been waiting a long time to call me that, haven't you?" This was the first time everyone in the Hub knew that Ianto wasn't human, so Owen couldn't have gotten away with it before.

Owen grinned. "You have no idea."

Ianto rolled his eyes. "And to think I wanted to come back to this madhouse."

"More mad you, then!"

The dragon chuckled. "You haven't broken the coffee machine while I was gone, have you?"

"No one's touched it," Toshiko said. "Well, Gwen tried until we told her you were the only one who could get that monster to work."

Speaking of Gwen…

His last teammate was hovering just on the periphery of their reunion, her eyes wary as she watched the three of them. Ianto stepped away from Toshiko and Owen, and up to the woman. "Gwen," he greeted her politely.

"Ianto," she said in return, looking slightly uncomfortable.

Jack had explained to him that Gwen had been the only one of the team to question why he was being allowed to come back, and why she'd told that PC that Ianto wasn't coming back. She'd honestly believed that he was gone at the time, despite Jack's assurances that Ianto would still be welcome. Ianto had a feeling it was going to be a battle to have the woman accept him.

All he could do was make the effort, although he still had issues with her being hired in the first place.

"I think you and I got off on the wrong foot," he said to her. "Let's just start over, shall we?" He offered her his hand.

Gwen looked from his face, to his hand, and then back, as if trying to judge his veracity. Finally, she nodded, accepting his hand and shaking it firmly. "Sounds like a good idea," she answered, although she didn't look very convinced.

"Coffee!" Owen urged. "If we're going into a meeting, we need the caffeine to keep awake!"

Ianto turned, spearing the medic with his gaze. "Your manners haven't improved with distance. It must be your mother's influence."

Toshiko choked on a giggle, and even Gwen grinned. Owen looked highly offended.

* * *

"Okay, you lot," Jack said, entering the boardroom and taking his regular seat, interrupting Ianto as he was telling the others about his time at home. Jack instantly picked up the coffee mug that Ianto had sat down at his place, and the almost pornographic noises the captain made told the dragon that he hadn't lost his touch.

"Jesus, Harkness," Owen snorted. "Do you have to make a drama about everything?"

"You can't tell me you weren't happy to get genuine Ianto coffee," Jack replied.

"Sure, but I didn't make a production out of it!"

Ianto sat there, basking in the give and take among his teammates. He'd truly missed them, even though it had crossed his mind while he'd been away not to come back. He couldn't understand now why he'd even considered it. He belonged here, even if his and Jack's relationship wasn't anywhere near fixed yet. These people were the closest to family he'd had in a long time.

"Let's get down to business," Jack said, setting his mug down. "Before I left, I was having you do some research for me into fairies. We're not going to need that anymore, the situation has resolved itself."

Ianto let out a breath that he hadn't been aware he'd been holding. Jack had assured him on the drive back that he'd shut down the investigation, but after the captain's own confession about the children back in 1965, he hadn't been certain Jack could have just let it lie.

The reactions of the team were all different. Owen simply shrugged, as if it didn't matter to him one way or the other. Toshiko nodded, accepting Jack's word, tapping commands into the laptop she'd brought with her.

Gwen though, she didn't look happy.

"I thought you said there was a child involved, Jack," she said.

"I did. But we don't have to worry anymore."

"How can you be so sure?"

Jack looked a bit put out by the questioning. "I just can. It's time to move on."

"You're going to have to give a better answer than that, Jack, especially with a child mixed up in this."

"No, I don't, Gwen. I'm in charge and what I say, goes." Jack's face had turned stony, and Ianto knew he had to step in or else there was going to be a major argument.

"Information has come to Jack's attention that makes it obvious that we're not needed on this case, Gwen," the dragon answered, keeping his voice pitched low, in an attempt to calm the raised emotions between them two. "As to what that information is, it's confidential and not Jack's place to say."

The captain looked at him gratefully, and Ianto returned the look with a nod. Gwen caught it, and frowned. "But you know what it is," she accused.

Ianto raised an eyebrow. "Of course I do," he answered. "I was there when Jack received the information." He wasn't about to tell her that he, himself, was the source of Jack's knowledge, because it was none of her business.

"As I said," Jack jumped back in, "the situation has resolved itself, and we're no longer needed. Now, I have something else I'd like us to look at; there have been a rash of missing persons out in the Brecon Beacons…"

* * *

_**28 October 2007** _

 

_**  
**_

"Good morning, Detective."

Kathy Swanson grinned. "Mr. Jones. Can I say I'm glad you're back?"

Ianto smiled. "It's good to be back. I take it you have something for us?"

The question wiped the smile from her face. "I thought I'd seen everything until now. The night custody sergeant had him locked up for the night, on his own. He says the prisoner kept shouting that something was after him."

She motioned Ianto, Jack and Gwen down the corridor toward the cells. He'd received the call almost the second he'd walked into the Hub that morning, and Jack had been quick to react, bustling them into the SUV and driving like a madman toward Cardiff CID.

"What kind of things?" Jack asked, sounding subdued for once.

"Shadows, according the sergeant," Swanson answered. "Said the prisoner also kept going on about being choked."

Toshiko chose that moment to join them. She had a scanner out, and was taking readings of the area as they approached the cell where the prisoner had been. "There were four other prisoners?" she asked Swanson.

The detective confirmed it. "I had them transferred."

"CCTV?" Jack inquired.

"I'm dealing with that," Tosh replied.

There was a rather burly young man standing at the cell door; he opened it, and Jack and Tosh entered. Ianto stayed outside, the better to speak to Detective Swanson. "Can we speak to the custody sergeant if needed?" he asked.

Swanson nodded. "I thought you might, so I asked him to hang around." She suddenly looked past Ianto, and the dragon turned.

Gwen was standing there, her arms crossed, looking slightly irritated. He simply quirked an eyebrow in her direction. "Is there a problem?" he asked calmly, although he suspected he knew what the issue was.

"I thought I was supposed to liaise with the police," she asked, not even trying to hide the belligerent tone in her voice.

He'd guessed right. "Detective Swanson and I are friends, Gwen," he explained.

"Yeah, Jones and me go back," Swanson added. "Even before I was a DI."

Gwen looked at the both of them. "Does that mean she knows - "

"Gwen," Ianto interrupted her, angrily. "Why don't you go and help Jack and Tosh?"

She looked a bit put out at being dismissed, but Ianto didn't care. He was nearly livid. How dare she? She had no right to even ask what she'd been about to ask. Besides, it wasn't her business who knew he was a dragon or not! Certainly she hadn't blurted anything out about Jack's immortality!

Gwen took the hint, and moved into the cell with Jack and Tosh, where they were examining the body. Ianto resisted the urge to rub his temples. "What can you tell me about the man?" he asked, turning his attention back to Swanson.

Swanson looked confused, but didn't let it get in her way. "Mark Goodson. Worked in town. Business consultant. Convicted pedophile."

That got Ianto's attention. He glanced back toward the cell, and saw Jack exit. He caught the immortal's eyes, and Jack nodded.

The Fae had done this.

"We'll take it from here, Detective," Ianto said.

"Kinda figured," she replied, smirking. "Man dies in a locked cell after yelling that things are after him? Sounds right up Torchwood's alley."

"Which is why you called us."

"Which is why I called you."

They shared a quick smile.

* * *

"I thought you said everything was fine, Jack!"

The accusation bounced around the inside of the SUV as they drove back to the Hub. Ianto rolled his eyes in response. The woman was like a dog with a bone, not willing to give up to anyone.

"It is, Gwen," Jack answered from the drivers' seat. Ianto caught his gaze in the rear view mirror, and the irritation was obvious.

"But that poor man was killed in the same way you said the fairies kill."

"That 'poor man', as you call him," Ianto said, "was a pedophile."

"So you're saying he didn't deserve to live?" she challenged.

"I'm saying," Ianto answered calmly, "that your sympathies are in the wrong place." He wasn't about to let her rile him up.

"Ianto's right," Tosh said, cutting Gwen off just as she was about to say something else. She shared a look with the dragon, who sat next to her in the back seat.

"If he was a pedophile, then he should have received a fair trial," Gwen went on. "Instead, he was murdered."

"I'm not sure the fairies see it as murder." It felt very strange to be calling the Fae that, but Ianto didn't want to telegraph that he knew more than they were telling her. "I think we can infer that Goodson did something to make them want to declare vengeance." There was only one thing that could do that, which meant they hadn't yet claimed their Chosen One as yet.

"Or else they decided to randomly kill an innocent man."

Ianto didn't want to argue with her. He _knew_ why the man had been killed, even if he hadn't seen the actual act. It was making him rethink a couple of things about the Pact between Fae and humans, in that whatever Goodson had done hadn't actually broken the Pact. While Ianto would be the first to admit that he didn't know the exact wording, he was now willing to bet that the Fae couldn't declare the Pact broken if it was done by accident. It would also explain why they hadn't done more than take revenge against Jack's men back in 1909. It must take an act of deliberation, in denying the Fae their Chosen One, that would serve to break it.

"Whatever the reason," Jack broke in, "it doesn't matter. This isn't our problem anymore."

Once more, Jack met Ianto's eyes in the rearview mirror. The captain looked tired, but fierce; he'd decided to accept Ianto's explanation of the Pact, and was standing by his original course of action.

They were going to drop it, and not interfere. Ianto was almost ashamedly relieved.

Because he didn't want to have to explain his own peoples' Pact with the Fae, and what it would mean to him personally if anyone of his Named dragon-friends willingly refused the Fae their Chosen.

* * *

_**28 October 2007** _

 

_**  
**_

"Okay," Owen said, leaning against the doorjamb and giving Jack a frustrated glare, "just what burr's gotten up Cooper's arse?"

Jack glanced up from the requisition report that he'd been trying to concentrate on. "She won't accept that I closed the fairies case." She'd been quiet since they'd gotten back, concentrating on her terminal as if it was her new best friend.

The medic shook his head. "Wasn't her tenaciousness one of the reasons you hired her?"

It had been, and Jack didn't want to admit it, but Owen caught him out. "Yeah, I just didn't expect her to be aiming it in my direction."

"The temperature out in the main Hub has dropped drastically," Ianto commented, entering the office, bearing Jack's coffee mug. "Just from the cold shoulder Gwen is giving everyone."

Jack took the offered drink, letting his fingers brush against Ianto's. The dragon didn't flinch or pull away, which the captain took as a good sign. "You are my savior."

"What about mine?" Owen groused.

"It's sitting on your desk," Ianto answered.

"Did you have another reason for coming in here, besides wanting to know what's bothering Gwen?" Jack asked the medic.

"Oh yeah. Finished the autopsy on our lovely pedophile, and you were right…his throat and lungs were stuffed with rose petals."

Jack shivered. What a horrible way to die, even if the man may have deserved it. "Thanks. Book him a room into the Torchwood Hilton, would you?" The body wouldn't be going back to the police, not after a death like that. It would be going directly into the morgue.

"Already done. I'll have the report for you by the morning."

"Good job, Owen."

He shrugged. "Just doing my job. Now, I'm going to get my coffee, and hopefully if it stays quiet my boss will let us leave soon."

Jack smirked. "I'll think about it."

Owen left, and Ianto perched himself on the edge of Jack's desk. Blue eyes met blue, and Jack could read the gratitude in them. "Thank you," Ianto murmured.

Jack quirked an eyebrow up questioningly. "What for?"

"For not pursuing this. I know it was hard for you – "

"I won't lie, it was. But I also know that certain decisions have to be made, and I'm the one to make them. It's why they pay me the big money." It had been difficult to realize that they'd have to let the fairies take their Chosen One, however there'd been no real choice. Chances were, he'd have a few nightmares about it, but Ianto had assured him that whoever the child was, they'd be treated well.

Ianto snorted. "You forget, I know how much you get paid. And it really _is_ big money."

Jack smiled up at him. "Have I told you that I'm really glad you're back?"

"Not yet," Ianto replied, "but I'm glad I'm back too."

"Look, I meant what I said: we really need to talk. I was thinking – "

And Jack's phone rang.

He cursed. "Hold that thought," he said, reaching for his phone. "Harkness."

" _Jack?"_

The immortal sat up, instantly alert at the panicked sound in Estelle's voice. He put the phone on speaker, so Ianto could hear as well. "What's wrong?"

" _You were right…there are bad ones. They've come to me."_

Jack's heart stopped, then began to practically throb in his chest. He glanced up at Ianto; the dragon's blue eyes had changed into their normal aspect, pupils slanted like a cat's. "Estelle, we're on our way."

"Stay inside," Ianto commanded. "Don't go anywhere near them. Promise us, Estelle."

" _I promise. Please hurry."_

Jack hung up, jumping to his feet and rushing out of his office, Ianto on his heels. He couldn't understand why the fairies were going after Estelle, of all people; she'd never done them any harm, and in fact had steadfastly defended them to anyone. There would be no possible reason for them to do anything to her…

He was headed toward the car park when Ianto's voice calling his name stopped him in his tracks. The dragon was heading toward the cog door, Jack's greatcoat over his arm, their three teammates staring at him in surprise.

Jack knew immediately what the dragon intended.

"What's going on?" Gwen demanded, putting herself in Jack's way.

"If you don't step aside," Jack gritted, "I'll move you myself."

Gwen didn't argue. She let him pass.

The two were up on the Plass in no time, Ianto tossing Jack his coat even as the golden glow that heralded him changing into his true form settled around him. Absently Jack realized they'd have to Retcon the witnesses, but in that moment it just wasn't all that important.

Getting to Estelle was all that mattered.

The dragon crouched down, and Jack vaulted onto a muscled forearm, scrambling into place on the broad back, his knees tucked under unfurled wings. With a mighty heave, Ianto launched himself into the air, and the captain leaned forward and wrapped his arms around the dragon's neck, keeping himself low in order to create less drag.

The wind was cold, but it didn't bother Jack at all. The only thing he could think of was Estelle, and why the fairies would have attacked her. She hadn't done anything to warrant such an action. He really wanted to ask Ianto what would have caused them to do something like this, but there was no way he would have been heard over the rushing wind.

Jack lost track of time as they flew, his thoughts on the woman waiting for them to come to her rescue. Estelle had meant so much to him for so long, and even though he knew he'd lose her some day, he didn't want that to happen at the hands of a group of capricious fairies who didn't have any reason to do what they were doing. He thought of all the promises he'd broken when he'd left her, once again feeling as if his immortality was the worst curse imaginable. All he wanted to do was find the Doctor, and get it fixed so he could lead a normal life.

But his mind turned to the great creature he currently flew with, and how Ianto would also live a very long time. He could hear the unspoken accusation that night with Lisa, that they should be able to understand each other because of their long-livedness. It was true, but where for the dragon it was natural to be near-immortal, for Jack it was just plain wrong. He didn't want to go through life losing everyone he'd ever loved.

A flush of guilt went through him, as he considered that Ianto would have to suffer that fate once they were all gone and dead.

The dragon banked, and a frisson of fear slid down Jack's spine as he saw the lone storm cloud dumping its cargo of rain into Estelle's back garden. The dragon roared, the leather-like skin of his wings snapping as he braked, his large rear legs taking his weight as he came to a landing in the garden, his bulk crushing many of the plants in his wake.

Jack slid off as the rain pummeled his exposed skin; within seconds he was soaked even through his greatcoat. He could see them; the ugly green creatures were perched in the trees, and one large one hunched on the ground, snarling up at the dragon as Ianto did the same down at it.

"Go see to Estelle," the dragon growled. "I'll take care of these."

" _Go away, ancient one,"_ the fairy hissed as Jack headed toward the back door.

"You are attacking one of mine," the dragon snapped. "I protect my own."

The rest of the conversation was lost as Jack entered Estelle's home. He called out her name, and an answering call came from the lounge. Jack found her, curled up against the end of the sofa, Moses clutched in her arms, her eyes wide with fright.

He gathered her up in his arms, and she clutched back, unmindful of his wet clothes and the cat in her lap. "It's okay," he murmured, rocking her slightly.

Estelle was shaking. "You were right," she moaned. "I'm sorry I didn't believe you…"

He shushed her. "I think we were both wrong." He could tell that the rain outside had stopped, and he pulled away slightly, looking at her closely. "Are you hurt?" She didn't seem to be.

"No, just scared nearly to death!"

"Ianto's taking care of it now." He took Moses out of her grasp, setting the cat down, where he promptly darted under the closest table. Jack helped Estelle to her feet. "C'mon, let's see what's going on." He wasn't sure he trusted the fairies not to renew their attack once they caught sight of his former lover, but Jack wasn't about to leave her alone, and he almost desperately wanted to see if Ianto was all right.

" – Named her," the dragon was saying, as Jack and Estelle made their way to the open back door. "You cannot harm her."

" _Touched her we have not,"_ the fairy answered, _"Only have we frightened her."_

"But why?" Ianto demanded. "Estelle Cole has always been a friend to the Fae. She has done everything in her power to defend you, and yet you do this! Why?"

The fairy turned, spearing Jack with its dark eyes. _"To force the undying one to break the Pact."_

Jack shivered, realizing just what the creature was saying: they'd wanted to get him to break the Pact between human and fairy. But why would they want him to do that?

Ianto asked that same question.

The fairy smirked. _"Tired we are of only taking one at a time. We want to take what we want."_

Jack's eyes widened. "But if the Pact is broken," he said, "that would mean the end of the world. There wouldn't be any more Chosen Ones if there aren't any more humans."

" _We can get them from the past,"_ the fairy said contemptuously. _"Time stops us not."_

Estelle was shivering against him, and Jack tightened his arm around her. She had to have been confused, and he appreciated her waiting patiently for her explanations. "I won't do it," he snapped. "I won't condemn the entire planet like that!"

" _Not even for her?"_ The creature sounded distinctly put out.

"I wouldn't expect him to," Estelle said, her voice strong despite her shaking. "The entire world is more important than me."

The fairy hissed its displeasure.

"You're not welcome here," the dragon said angrily. "I have Named both Estelle Cole and Jack Harkness as dragon-friends, and you cannot hurt them. That would be breaking your Pact with _me_ , and I know you do not want to do that."

" _You are the last,"_ the fairy bared its teeth. _"You do not matter to us."_

The dragon's head went up, and he glared down at the creature before him. He spoke again, but this time it was in a language that Jack didn't understand. A scent not unlike ozone filled the air, and the small hairs at the back of Jack's neck stood on end.

An invisible power seemed to permeate the garden, and the fairy flinched back, hissing once again as whatever the dragon was doing affected it. Everything went still; even the wind that had been rustling the trees, and a fog seemed to settle over everything.

In that fog, Jack saw…Time.

He saw the great ages of the world. From great volcanoes to massive ice sheets, to endless deserts and stormy seas, Jack found himself watching with awe as the progression of time flowed through the small garden. The flashes of the eons didn't last long, but they left no doubt in Jack's mind that somehow Ianto was causing this, that his words had summoned Time to that place, and was using it to face down a fairy who wanted nothing more than to break a Pact that had been in existence for tens of thousands of years.

It occurred to him that this was the magic that Ianto kept on about. That this power was of the earth, ancient and immutable, and somehow Ianto was calling it to his aid.

Just as quickly, things returned to normal. "You do not want me as an enemy," the dragon snarled. "Leave my dragon-friends alone."

" _They can still betray you, ancient one,"_ the fairy replied, its eyes narrowed. _"Your power will not avail you then."_

"You overestimate yourself. My friends are true, and will not break the Pact."

The fairy laughed; it was a horrible sound, like fingernails scraping down a chalkboard. _"You are too sure of yourself."_

"I have faith in them."

The creature laughed once more, and in the blink of an eye they were gone. Only the rain-saturated ground gave testament of their presence.

* * *

_**28 October 2007** _

 

_**  
**_

They didn't have any trouble convincing Estelle to stay at Ianto's for the time being.

The dragon kept watch as his friend and Jack gathered things together for herself and Moses. He was certain that the Fae wouldn't return, but he was still cautious enough to leave at least one eye open to any possible danger.

Once Estelle had enough to get by for a couple of days, Jack called a cab and the three of them left, Ianto giving the driver his address. He was quiet, thinking over everything he'd found from out from questioning the Fae.

He couldn't believe they were looking to break the long-standing Pact between them and human-kind, let alone that they were hoping to use one of his Named dragon-friends to do it. A shiver went down his spine at the thought; he knew what was at stake if it happened, and while he was worried about what might happen to him, he was more concerned with the world at large. It was ironic that, just about a month ago, Ianto had been angry at the human race; now, he wanted to save it.

The trip was quiet, and it allowed Ianto to examine everything he knew about the various Pacts involved; which, to be honest, wasn't all that much. He found himself missing his father's calm advice, knowing that he was stepping through this situation nearly blind. Of course, he knew the histories, but the actual wordings Ianto was unfamiliar with. The easiest thing to do would be to keep everything on the right side of any and all agreements, until the Fae got tired and retrieved their Chosen One.

The dragon only hoped it would be that simple.

Once they arrived at Ianto's home, the dragon went to get Estelle situated in his guest room, and Moses into the back garden. He also managed to find Jack some dry clothes, hanging the soaked greatcoat in the bathroom to dry. After changing, Jack excused himself for a moment, saying he needed to make a phone call. Ianto figured he'd be checking in on the team, after their rather precipitous exit from the Hub.

After getting Estelle settled, the dragon went to find Jack. The immortal was in the garden, watching Moses as he stalked about his new surroundings as if he'd always been there. Jack was still on the phone; Ianto caught him saying, "- was just checking on you…I know it's late, but…fine, but take care of yourselves, okay?...yeah, see ya." He practically slammed the clamshell of his mobile shut, looking frustrated.

"Everything okay?' Ianto announced his presence.

Jack spun, the guilt that shone in his eyes suddenly hidden behind a smile that didn't quite fit. "Yeah," he said. "I had Owen send everyone home."

"Good." Ianto moved to stand next to him. "Are you all right?"

"You bet," Jack answered. "But I think there's something you haven't told me about all this dragon-friend stuff."

Ianto sighed. Trust Jack to notice his conversation with the Fae. "It's…complicated."

"I'm sure it is," Jack said dryly.

"It's just….I'm not even sure about it all. My…father explained it to me, and I've lived among dragon-friends for as long as I can remember. But, this is actually the first time I've ever claimed any humans that way."

"Who else did you claim, besides Estelle and me?"

"The team, and Kathy Swanson."

That earned him a quirked eyebrow. "I didn't know you and the detective inspector were so close."

"I consider her a friend. I'd even tell her about myself, but I don't want to force her to hide anything from her superiors."

"But you trust her."

"Yes, I do."

Jack snorted. "Well, that certainly makes her attitude a little easier to understand."

"We respect each other."

Jack looked Ianto in the eye. "And here I was afraid that you'd completely turned your back on humanity."

Ianto smiled slightly. "No…just a large percentage of it. And even that's changed."

"I…have a confession to make."

"Only one?" the dragon chuckled lightly.

"Well, one for now. I had another reason for hiring Gwen: and that was to show you that humans aren't your enemy, and to remind you that you're fighting for something more than me."

Ianto turned away. He really couldn't decide how he felt about that, but there was anger mixed in with it. "Jack, while I appreciate your effort, Gwen Cooper isn't the ideal example to show me. It was her sort of idealistic crusader that was mostly responsible for the destruction of my kind. I doubt I'll ever truly be friends with her."

Jack was silent for a moment, and then a hand rested itself on his shoulder. Ianto sighed, leaning slightly into the touch, wishing this meant more to the immortal than it did. "That…honestly didn't occur to me. I'm sorry, Ianto."

"It's all right. You meant well."

"I did, but that doesn't excuse how thoughtless I was about it." The hand gently prodded him to turn, and once he was face-to-face with Jack, the captain grasped both shoulders to hold him in place. His eyes were serious. "You and I really need to talk, Ianto. I know I'm a big part of what's wrong between us, and I really want to fix things."

A swell of happiness burst in Ianto's chest, and he realized they might actually succeed in saving something of their friendship. Yes, the dragon wished it was more than that, but he'd accept whatever Jack could give him. "I really would like to try," he answered, smiling.

Jack returned the smile, and it lit up his entire face. "Thanks for giving me a chance. How about, after this is all over, we – "

Jack's mobile rang.

The immortal cursed, pulling the offending device from his pocket. He glanced at the caller ID, and cursed again. Flipping the phone open, he snapped, "Yes?"

Ianto took a step back, to give Jack some privacy, feeling hopeful that things might yet work out between them. He knew they had a long ways to go, but if Jack wanted to try…

"We need to go," Jack's sharp words punctured Ianto's little happy bubble. "The fairies have trashed Gwen's flat."

* * *

They stood in the middle of Gwen's flat, staring at the mess that the Fae had made.

It had obviously been them, just from the rose petals that lay scattered everywhere. The furniture had been tipped over, and there was a pile of stones in the center of the room.

Ianto was livid. How dare they, after his confrontation at Estelle's? But then, they were watching him, he knew that, and had to have seen that his relationship with Gwen wasn't exactly close. In fact, they would have had to have known her feelings on the subject of the child they'd Chosen.

She would have been the perfect choice, if they wanted one of his friends to break the Pact.

Gwen was furious. "In the whole of my working life," she ranted, "I have never had to bring the bad times home with me. I have never had to feel threatened in my own home. Thank God Rhys was out with friends tonight! What would have happened if he'd been home when this happened? I thought you said this was taken care of, Jack!"

Ianto's heart went cold as he realized he hadn't Named Rhys Williams in his list of dragon-friends. Having never met the man, he simply didn't think of him that night in Roundstone Wood. How many other friends and relatives had he forgotten in his Naming? How many might be used against him by the Fae?

"There's been…a complication," Jack started.

Gwen interrupted him. "A complication? Jack, that complication wrecked my flat! These creatures can invade my home whenever they feel like it, and I'm scared! What chance do any of us have?"

Jack looked at Ianto, almost pleadingly. Ianto nodded, knowing that he was going to have to explain everything to Gwen, in order for her to understand what was going on.

And so, he told her of the early humans, and the coming of the ice, and of the Pact that was made with the Fae. He watched as her face went white, then red, and then angry, as he explained what those humans had done in order to save what was left of their race. And, how the Fae now were hoping to break that Pact, so they could take children indiscriminately.

When he was done, Gwen turned on Jack once more. "You believe this bollocks, Jack?" she demanded hotly.

Ianto felt like he'd been slapped in the face. Yes, he and Gwen didn't get along, but he hardly expected to be called a liar.

Jack looked thunderous. "Yes, Gwen, I do."

"But you're agreeing with…with Ianto, in letting these fairies actually take a child?" she asked incredulously.

Ianto noticed that little stutter as well, and wondered just what she'd been about to call him.

"If it means saving the world…then yes, it needs to happen."

She shook her head. "No, I don't believe this. I can't believe this!"

"Believe it, Gwen," Jack said inexorably. "The fairies are very capable of destroying life on this planet if they don't get what they want."

"And they want a child? You can't let them get away with this! We have to stop them!"

"How?' Ianto challenged, tired of her bluster. "Give us one way to stop the Fae, that won't cause the end of the world, and you can bet we'll take it!"

Gwen tried to stare him down, but after a full minute of silence Jack jumped in. "See why we need to drop this, Gwen? There literally is no way to stop this. What the fairies did to your flat was meant to get you do break the Pact. If you had motivation to stop them – "

"We can't just let this happen!' she exclaimed.

"We have to," the captain answered. "There are some things we can't help, Gwen. This is one of them."

"I can't believe that. "

"Believe it," Ianto said sharply. "It's one life for billions."

"This shouldn't even be a choice."

"Arguing about it isn't going to change anything, Gwen," Jack snapped. "This case is over. We're not pursuing it, even if it means they come after each of us. They've already put someone I care about in danger, and I had to make this same decision."

She stared at him, wide-eyed. "You'd let these fairies put someone you care about in danger?"

"It's already happened. Why do you think Ianto and I left the Hub so quickly earlier?"

"Jack chose the Earth over his own needs," Ianto said. "Why can't you do the same?"

"But this child!" Gwen replied. "Whoever it is can't make an informed decision!"

"Children are remarkably intelligent," the dragon said. "Adults just don't give them enough credit. Whoever this Chosen One is, they'll want to go with the Fae."

"Then we have to find them, and convince them to stay!"

"Haven't you been listening?" Jack nearly shouted. "We cannot stop this. To do it will cause death and destruction."

"And the Fae wouldn't let you die, once you think you've thwarted them," Ianto added. "They'd keep you alive, to watch what your decision has caused. They'd torture you with the knowledge that you broke the Pact and destroyed the entire planet, just because you thought you were right."

"They want this to happen, Gwen," Jack said. "They want the Pact broken so they can take what they want and wipe out humans in the process. Do you want this on your conscience?"

Gwen was shaking her head, but Ianto couldn't tell if it was because of what Jack had said, or if she still wasn't agreeing with them. Why was she fighting about this? Jack was in charge; what he said, should be followed. Gwen seemed determined to fight him every step of the way, even though there was no way out of the situation.

Ianto wanted to shake some sense into her, but knew that wouldn't do any good. "Gwen, you have to let this go," he told her, lowering his tone and hoping its seriousness would penetrate the self-created righteous indignation she'd fallen into.

"Ianto is right," Jack backed him up. "If you don't you're a danger to the team…and to the world, and I'll Retcon you so fast you won't even see it coming. Is that understood?"

Gwen reared back in shock. "You can't mean that!"

"I do, Gwen. I'm perfectly serious."

Once again, Ianto felt that warmth in his chest, warmer than his flame. Jack was backing him over Gwen, the woman he'd started out choosing over Ianto. He hadn't thought it would ever happen, and if the situation wasn't so grave then he'd revel in the knowledge that Jack trusted him.

"But you need me! You said so!"

"The world is more important than you, Gwen," Jack answered. "It's our job to save this planet, not to put our own morals and needs first. If what you think is right overrides the safety of the Earth, then you will always be wrong. If you can't accept that, then you don't have a place in Torchwood."

Gwen stared at him, her mouth open in shock. Then it snapped shut, and she nodded once.

Ianto let out a breath he didn't know he was even holding. He'd arrange to have a company come in and clean this mess up in the morning. Also, he'd speak to Tosh and Owen in the morning, and let them know what he'd told Gwen, so that they'd understand as well. He knew there wouldn't be any problem with his other teammates.

They just had to wait the Fae out. They'd soon take their Chosen One, and go back to the Lost Lands until the next time.

* * *

_**29 October 2007** _

 

_**  
**_

"Jack? Can I talk to you for a minute?"

He glanced up from the newest round of paperwork Ianto had given him that morning, frowning at Gwen as she stood in his doorway, looking almost penitent. "Come on in," he said, motioning her to the chair opposite his desk. "Don't take too long, I'd like to get this all done today."

Gwen took the offered seat. "I just wanted to speak to you alone, to try and convince you to change your mind about the fairies."

Jack frowned even deeper. "I'm not going to change my mind, Gwen. I don't understand why you think I would."

"Because we're talking about an innocent child," she answered. "You can't bargain a child away like that!"

"Apparently our ancestors thought they could."

"And you actually believe that?"

"Of course I do. Sounds to me like something humanity would do to save itself." He wasn't going to go into the fact that he'd seen them do that very thing, and not all that long ago, either.

Gwen looked at him in shock. "You can't honestly be that cynical!"

"And you can't honestly be that innocent." He leaned his elbows onto the files he'd been perusing, steepling his fingers. "You really need to learn there are things you have to accept, even though they go against your nature. It's not a good feeling, but you have to or else this job will drive you nuts." He'd learned that all too well, in the more than century he'd lived.

"I don't ever want to get to the point where sacrificing a child is acceptable!"

"Then you don't belong here." He would never tell her about 1965; not that he'd planned to. As much as Jack hadn't wanted to give those children to the aliens, it would have meant an epidemic of global proportions if he hadn't.

Jack really didn't want to Retcon her; he still thought she could add something to the team. But if she was going to be stubborn about this…

"But this is why you need me: to show you when you're not being human! You can't afford to let me go."

"No one is above the team, Gwen," Jack said. "We can't afford to have a destabilizing presence in the Hub, not when it could mean the difference between saving the world and condemning it."

"You really believe that the fairies would have destroyed the world if they hadn't gotten their Chosen One?" she asked disdainfully.

"Gwen, there are a lot of things out there that you have no idea about," Jack snapped, getting angry at her pushing the subject. "Not all of it fits into your definition of morality. I thought we had this conversation last night."

She flushed slightly. "I wanted to convince you that there has to be another way to go about this, without giving a child to the fairies."

"There isn't. In fact, you're too late…they already have her. So your arguments are wasted." He and Ianto had managed to track down the Chosen One that morning; a girl named Jasmine Pierce had been the one, and they'd witnessed her leaving with the fairies, although her step-father had been a victim of the creatures' fury. The two of them had gotten the girl into the woods, where she'd gone happily into the Lost Lands.

Jack had hated it, but he wasn't about to admit that to Gwen. He was beginning to learn that, if you show the slightest weakness around her, she would try to exploit it. Not in an evil way; but she'd certainly try to convince you to come round to her way of thinking if she could. He could tell the whole thing unsettled Ianto as well, and Jack wasn't convinced that the dragon still hadn't told him everything about the consequences of someone breaking the Pact between the dragon and the fairies.

Gwen's face twisted angrily. "You mean you really just let a young child go with those…those monsters?"

"I do recall saying there wasn't a choice," Jack reminded her.

"How can you be so callous? What about her family?" She was working herself up into a frenzy.

Jack wasn't about to get into this with her. "That is none of your business," he growled. He hadn't really wanted to Retcon Mrs. Pierce, but after everything that had happened he'd had to. "Now, this subject is closed. If you bring it up again, I _will_ Retcon you. Is that clear?"

He could tell that she really wanted to say more, but with an audible click Gwen snapped her mouth closed. She rose from the chair stiffly, then practically stomped toward the door, and Jack was forcibly reminded of a child in a strop.

He called her back as she reached the door; Gwen stopped, but didn't turn.

"I also wanted to let you know that Ianto and I have talked, and we've decided that we're going back to the tried-and-true method of training for you; he and I will share the load, evaluating your performance along the way."

She did turn then, glaring at Jack. If he could actually die for real, the immortal felt like he'd have gone up in flames at her expression. "I'd rather train with you," she ground out.

"Too bad," Jack countered, getting an almost perverse joy out of saying that. "Ianto and I both handled Tosh and Owen's training, and we're going to do the same thing with you. It will be up to the two of us whether you're promoted to full field agent."

Gwen nodded once, although she didn't look at all happy about it. She left the office and headed out into the Hub proper, and Jack sighed. He was beginning to realize that it was never going to be easy dealing with Gwen Cooper.

* * *

"I have all the information you wanted."

This time, when Jack looked up from his paperwork, he was actually glad to see the person who'd interrupted him. "Have you come to save me from the invasion of the evil files?"

Ianto rolled his eyes. "Only to give you more," the dragon answered, coming into the office proper. He was indeed holding another file, this one fairly thick.

Jack pouted. "And you were supposed to be my hero."

"I'll leave the hero act to you, Jack," he said. "You have the coat for it, after all."

The captain grinned. He'd missed this teasing between them, and it was yet another sign that he and Ianto would be able to get past everything that had happened. "I do look good in that coat," he leered.

The dragon smirked. "Far be it for me to pander to your ego." He indicated the file he was holding. "This is everything we have on those disappearances in the Brecon Beacons. It makes for disturbing reading."

"I can imagine," Jack said, dropping back into work mode. "Can you give me the highlights?"

Ianto nodded. "Seventeen disappearances over the last five months, all within a 20-mile radius. No bodies were ever found, and there's nothing to link any of the victims."

"Not good at all." Jack reached for the file, which Ianto gladly gave him. "Do you think if we got out that far, if you'd be able to sense if the Rift had grown?" He respected his Second's ability to feel the Rift energies, even if he didn't understand it. Jack had a certain sense of Time himself, being a time traveler, but he only could sense the Rift when it was overly active. Ianto was aware of it constantly. It was better than having that predictor program Tosh had been working on.

"Should do," was the reply.

"Then we'll head out first thing in the morning. I want the whole team on this, since we don't know what we're dealing with. It'll be your opportunity to watch Gwen and make some recommendations on her training."

Ianto nodded. "Shall I make the arrangements?"

Jack grinned. "Do we have camping gear?"

The dragon cocked his head to the side, considering. "Yes, we do. Are you thinking what I think you're thinking?"

"I should think so." This was going to be fun.

"Shall I then pack the earplugs? Owen's going to do nothing but bitch about it." Despite the dragon's usual deadpan delivery, his blue eyes were actually sparkling with mischief.

Jack laughed. "That might not be a bad idea." Then he sobered, looking up at his Second from where the dragon was leaning against the desk. "Do you mind Estelle staying at your place until we can get her window replaced?"

"Not at all. I have the work arranged for Tuesday. Oh, and the cleaners will be at Gwen's flat tomorrow, and since she'll be going with us you might want her to warn Rhys."

Jack inwardly cringed. After their talk earlier, he'd hoped to get away with not interacting with Gwen any more for the day. He hated feeling that way, but he was beginning to see things in her that could possibly hurt the team dynamic. He only hoped the more proper training would smooth out any rough spots.

Something must have shown in his face, because Ianto frowned. "What has she done now?"

"Oh, she was just back in here a while ago, trying once again to convince me to go up against the fairies for that little girl."

The dragon looked pissed. "Does that woman never learn? What doesn't she understand about leaving the situation be? Does she want to be the reason the world ends?"

"She doesn't believe it would."

"She'd certainly believe it when the Earth is covered with fire and ice and all living things are dead and dust!"

Suddenly it came to Jack. "Do you think you could show her?"

Ianto looked confused. "What do you mean?"

"What you did at Estelle's…I could actually see Time, when you confronted that fairy. Couldn't you do something like that, to show her what would happen?" He recalled it so vividly, seeing every epoch of time flickering through Estelle's garden

Ianto actually blushed. "Well, that was actually a bit of a parlor trick, to be honest. There are certain Words of Power, and they have effects on reality…I was just blustering, really. Besides, I can't do that unless there's an active power source nearby, like Roundstone Wood or Estelle's house, which sits on a ley line – "

"Or a Rift in Time and Space?"

That earned Jack a contemplative look. "I've never actually tried anything like that in the Hub. The Rift might even make the seeing stronger." His eyes met Jack's. "If you think it would work, I could try. I mean, can she be freaked out any more by me? Wait, don't answer that."

"It might gain you a bit of respect."

"Or it might make her more afraid of me."

"True." Jack sighed. There had to be a way to get through to her…

"Or," Ianto said, "we can let her speak to Jasmine."

The captain frowned. "But she went with the fairies."

"I can call the Fae, but we have to be in Roundstone Wood to do it. Perhaps if she heard it from Jasmine's own lips, that she wanted to go…" the dragon shrugged.

"They won't be able to do anything, would they?" Jack was suddenly afraid, he didn't want anything to happen to anyone on his team.

"No. I've Named you all. They cannot harm you."

"If you think it would work…" He couldn't help it; he'd lived in fear of the fairies for so long, the very idea of speaking to them – even though he'd done it at Estelle's – was making his skin crawl.

A warm hand touched his. He looked up into ancient blue eyes, eyes that were smiling at him even though Ianto's face was serious. "It's all right to be frightened, Jack. We're dealing with something beyond human experience. If you weren't, I'd be very worried."

Jack took a deep breath. "All right. I trust you."

The smile that got him was breathtaking.

* * *

_**29 October 2007** _

 

_**  
**_

It was dark before they arrived at Roundstone Wood, and that suited Ianto just fine.

They'd had to take two vehicles; when Estelle had heard where they were going, she'd insisted on coming along, the outrage at what the Fae had done to her evident in her eyes. Jack had tried to get her to stay at Ianto's, but the older woman was almost as stubborn as Gwen, and she had an emotional bond with Jack that had made it hard to say no to her. Ianto had been all for her accompanying them; she'd earned the right, after what had happened.

Toshiko and Owen had also come, but for a different reason: Ianto knew that, some time in the future, the Fae would try again to break the Pact, and he wanted witnesses that could attest to what would take place tonight, and would make sure everything was reported for generations down the road. Yes, while he could see himself and Jack staying with Torchwood indefinitely, having two independent witnesses would mean that whoever was on the team then wouldn't have to take just his and Jack's words for it. Certainly he hoped that that long far off team would believe them, but they could very much get someone like Gwen Cooper, who would doubt them and want to try to fix things.

To be honest, Ianto was beginning to doubt his reasoning in taking anyone into Roundstone Wood. When he'd suggested it, the dragon had thought that showing Gwen that Jasmine Pierce was happy, and that the Fae weren't going to harm her, would be a way to make her understand that not everything matched up to her ideal. That she couldn't hope to impose her own beliefs onto others. But now, as they trudged through the trees toward the stone circle, Ianto was wondering if he wasn't opening himself up to trouble.

It occurred to him that things could still go horribly wrong.

At least he knew he had three of the five of his companions firmly on his side. He and Jack had explained things to Owen and Tosh, and their teammates had seemed to understand why what was done, had to have been done. Estelle, though, was a wild-card; she was angry that the Fae had tried to frighten her, had tried to use her to get Jack to break the Pact, that there was no telling what she might do. As for Gwen…well, Ianto knew she'd try to get Jasmine to come with them when they left, but there was no danger that the child would. But, if Gwen said the wrong thing…

There was a gentle touch to his hand; Ianto looked over and saw Jack, the immortal's teeth gleaming in the torchlight as he smiled encouragingly. Before they'd left the Hub, Jack had promised that they'd talk after their little outing, and Ianto didn't know whether he was looking forward to it or not. It had been obvious that he'd been trying to say something for a couple of days now, and while Ianto appreciated Jack's sudden need to be honest, the dragon wasn't at all sure he wanted to hear any of it.

He mentally shook himself. These were part of the answers he'd wanted from Jack for so long. If he didn't like what Jack was going to tell him, it was his own choice.

He'd deal with that when needed.

Now, he was walking willfully into the lair of the Fae, and he was taking five ephemerals – well, four ephemerals and an immortal – with him.

The dragon could feel the power rising around him, just as it had on his previous visit to the wood. He paused, turning back to his companions. "We're getting closer," he murmured. "I'm not sure what you're going to see, since you don't have the senses that I do. Roundstone Wood is old, but the place where it grows is even older, and there are memories in the very trees and earth around us. I'm asking that you all show respect to this place, all right?"

He looked at each one of them. Jack nodded somberly; Estelle looked as if she was on some sort of adventure as she hooked her arm around the immortal's. Toshiko had that expression on her face that meant Ianto was in for a thorough questioning later, even as she used the one scanner the dragon had told her she could bring to take readings of the surrounding energy patterns. Owen mimicked Jack's nod, although he seemed more bored than impressed; Ianto was familiar with the medic enough to know it was just an act and that he was just as interested as Tosh was. Then he glanced at Gwen.

Ianto had noticed almost the first time he'd met her that Gwen Cooper carried her heart on her sleeve, and her face was more expressive than any of the others. And yet, she could obviously lie with the best of them, hiding her emotions easily.

Looking at her now, the dragon couldn't tell what she was feeling.

It worried him.

A wind blew through the trees, and the dragon could swear he heard laughter.

"They're here," he murmured.

Three out of four reached for guns that weren't present. One of the first things Ianto had insisted on was that all weapons remain in the SUV. Jack's Webley itself was locked in Ianto's glove box.

He turned, walking further into the trees, his torch carefully picking out the game trail he'd taken toward the stone circle. As he moved on, he began to see the changes around him once more; of the turning of the eons, back into what scientists called Deep Time, back to the coming of the Spider to form the center of the Earth. Ianto managed to control a shiver at that thought; it had been a story his father had told him, and as a child it had frightened him that something was sleeping deep within the earth under his feet.

Judging from the gasp just behind him, at least one of his companions was getting some sort of idea of the power in the wood; from the obviously masculine sound of it, it had been Jack, which shouldn't have surprised Ianto in the least. He recalled Lisa's words, _"He stinks of Time'._ Also, Jack had seen the affects of the Word of Power he'd used at Estelle's, so it made sense that he would be the one.

He could see the stones ahead. Ianto kept walking; even though he couldn't see any of the Fae that he knew were present. They were attempting to unnerve him, and although it was working he wasn't about to say anything aloud. He almost laughed when he realized that showing weakness to the Fae was like doing the same to Gwen: they would try to exploit it.

That made him wonder vaguely if her family had any Fae blood. It could explain the darkness he sensed within her.

The power called to him, and he resisted, staying in his human form. Ianto wasn't about to give in to anything, wanting to remain strong in front of the Fae. "I know you're there," he called out, coming to a stop in front of the closest stone.

This time, the laughter was more noticeable. As Ianto stood waiting, the large Fae he'd spoken to before landed on the stone before him, dark eyes narrowed. _"What do you do here, ancient one?"_ it asked. _"And why bring these with you?"_

"We wished to see the girl, your Chosen One," he answered, keeping his voice level. He wanted to turn, to see how the others were reacting, but didn't dare.

The Fae looked at him knowingly. _"One of them could still break the Pact."_

"No. They are all true. They wouldn't break it." Ianto had to show certainty; he couldn't give them anything to use.

" _Do they understand ancient one? Do they understand the consequences of your bringing them here?"_

Ianto frowned. "There are no consequences. What do you mean?"

The Fae glanced behind the dragon, thin lips curved upward in a smile. _"All they have to do is betray you, and you would be ours."_

"What do you mean by that?" Jack demanded, stepping forward, Estelle still on his arm.

Ianto wanted to speak up, to deny what the Fae had said, but the creature was right. Fear crawled up into his chest, threatening his ability to breathe. Bringing them there was a mistake, and now he had the proof of that.

" _The Naming, undying one,"_ the Fae cackled. _"He has Named you all, and that means what you do against us reflects against him."_

"What?" Gwen spoke up. "I don't understand. What are you talking about?"

The Fae looked at her, and it licked its lips in anticipation. _"All you need do is betray him, child. Betray him, and you will not have to deal with him ever again."_

Jack cursed. "This is what the Naming is, isn't it?" he sounded almost accusing. "You've guaranteed our behavior."

"Bloody hell," Owen added. "You couldn't tell us this before?"

"It…it was one of the conditions of the Naming," Ianto answered slowly, his eyes not leaving the joyful creature in front of him.

" _Being dragon-friend is more curse than honor,"_ the Fae laughed.

"You're wrong," Jack asserted. "I'm honored to be called a dragon-friend. And I'll gladly uphold any sort of Pact that Ianto has." He placed his free hand on Ianto's shoulder, squeezing slightly.

"Jack's right," Toshiko stepped up. "Ianto is my friend. I'd never betray him."

"Yeah," Owen added. "Besides, who'd make my coffee in the morning if something happened to dragon-boy? I'd go nuts in a month."

"Ianto is a dear friend," Estelle said. "I'd never do anything intentional to hurt him."

The dragon felt his heart lighten at every declaration. They were truly dragon-friends, embodying everything that he'd learned from his father about Naming people to trust with his life. He snorted at Owen's comment, but he knew what he really meant by his words.

But, one more person hadn't answered as yet.

Ianto really didn't want to look at Gwen. She could be the deal-breaker; the one that would damage the Pact beyond all repair. He turned his eyes to her, hoping to get some idea of what she was thinking.

Her eyes were narrowed, staring at the Fae as if she wanted to read his mind. "I want to see her," she replied.

"Gwen?" Jack asked, uncertainty in his voice.

"I have to know, Jack," she said.

" _You cannot trust them, child,"_ the Fae said slyly.

"Oh, and I'm supposed to trust you, am I?" Gwen scoffed. "I'm not one of those early humans who were blinded into giving away their children. I want to see her…now."

The Fae didn't look happy, its wings whirring in agitation. _"The Chosen One does not wish to return to the world."_

"So, you're saying I can't trust the people I work with," Gwen mused, "but the one thing that can prove your case you won't bring out?"

" _The dragon and the undying one brought the Chosen to us,"_ the Fae answered. _"Does that say you can trust them?"_

The glare Gwen gave them was withering. She stood there belligerently, her arms crossed over her chest. "Is that true, Jack?"

"Yes, it is," the captain answered. "I chose to make sure that the Chosen One got to where she wanted to go, in exchange for the world not ending."

The woman looked even angrier. "How could you? I can understand Ianto doing it, because he's not even human! But you, Jack…how could you?"

"I've explained this to you, Gwen! Why aren't you getting that it was necessary? The girl wanted to go with them, anyway!"

"Gwen," Ianto said, "I'm not trying to trick you. I've explained to you what happened, those tens of thousands of years ago. It might not have been the right thing to do, but your entire race would have died out if that Pact had not been made. You…Owen…Tosh…even Jack; none of you would be here now if that Pact had not been made. Do you at least understand that?"

She looked at him, nodding. "I just can't believe it was that bad, that humanity can make a deal like that!"

"I wasn't there," the dragon admitted. "But my grandfather was, and he told my father…who told me. Humanity would never have had the chance it does now, without that sacrifice. You have to see that!" The entire world hung in the balance, and Ianto knew then what a mistake he'd made in bringing them all here…of bringing Gwen here. He should have let it lie, let her get over it in her own time, instead of dragging them all out to the middle of Roundstone Wood in a doomed attempt to make her see that Jasmine was where she wanted to be.

" _You fight for this world, ancient one,"_ the Fae hissed, _"and yet the humans are the ones who have left you so alone. Surely breaking the Pact would mean you would get your vengeance?"_

Ianto stood taller. "Revenge isn't the dragon way," he retorted. "Those humans are dead and dust. I have no issue with the ones now living." He didn't add that, that hadn't always been the case. If the Fae had moved only a month sooner, Ianto might have broken the Pact himself.

That thought chilled him. He'd never have thought that sort of action was within him.

His mother would have been bitterly disappointed in him.

Once more, he turned to Gwen. "This is your decision, Gwen. You seem unable to realize that what your ancestors did was to save your life…and the lives of billions and trillions, far into the future, as long as humanity shall exist. But, if you choose to break the Pact now, and to betray me and your friends and your family…then it's your choice. I won't stop you. I have Named you, Gwen Cooper…I know that means nothing to you, but it does to me. I shall never betray you, or yours, for as long as you and your descendants live. It's in your hands."

The silence that hung in the air was so heavy it dragged on Ianto's lungs. Jack's hand on the small of his back anchored him to the here and now, and he leaned back into the touch, seeking the comfort it brought.

Gwen didn't say anything. She simply stared at the Fae, and then back at Ianto. Time seemed to stop all around them as she looked back and forth between the two, and Ianto swore he'd never play poker with her.

Finally, Gwen turned, and began to walk out of the wood. "Are you lot coming?" she called out over her shoulder. "Rhys is expecting me home for dinner, and it's lasagna night."

* * *

_**29 October 2007** _

 

_**  
**_

Jack was incredibly relieved as the group trudged back to their cars, but he should have known it wouldn't last.

He walked with Estelle and Ianto, and it occurred to him that he was sandwiched between his two favorite people. Everything had turned out well – even though they hadn't gotten to see Jasmine – and now perhaps things could settle down for a bit.

He hadn't counted of Gwen rounding on Ianto once they'd gotten back to the parked vehicles, looking angrily at the dragon. "You think you've won," she spat. "You think I've chosen you over the fairies, and maybe I have. But it was the devil I know, against the devils I didn't, and that's why I walked away. I still don't trust you, and I'll be watching you. And I'm going to find a way to shove this so-called Pact down your fucking throat without destroying the world! Are we clear?"

"Now, just a damned minute – " Jack began, his anger overcoming any good feelings he had about the outcome of their trip.

He felt a hand on his arm. "It's fine, Jack," Ianto sighed. He turned to the enraged woman. "Good luck to you, Gwen. I do hope you find a way to break the Pact without the consequences."

She looked surprised at his capitulation, but didn't let that stop her from storming off toward the SUV and climbing into the passenger side, slamming the vehicle's door behind her.

"I don't think I'll ever understand that woman," Owen said, shaking his head. "All that passion…makes me wonder what she'd be like in the sack – "

"Owen!" Tosh exclaimed, slapping him on the arm.

"What?" he moaned, rubbing where Tosh had hit. "I'm just saying…"

"I do want to thank you both," Ianto said sincerely, "for backing me in there."

Toshiko enveloped him in a hug. "You're my friend, Ianto. There isn't a lot I wouldn't do for you."

Jack could see just how much her words affected Ianto, just by the slight smile on his features. "You're my friend too, Tosh," the dragon answered. "You are a true dragon-friend."

The woman pulled away, and she looked pleased and happy. "I'm glad I can be."

"Enough with the mush, okay?" Owen groaned. "It's so sweet I'm gonna spontaneously develop diabetes."

The group laughed at Owen's complaining. Jack basked in the closeness of his friends, and a part of him wondered if Gwen would ever fit in. As long as she held Ianto's dragoness against him, there really wasn't a chance of it. Maybe he could work on some team-bonding while they were out in the Beacons.

"You two take the SUV back to the Hub," Jack said. "If you get there before us, head on home. Be back around 6am; we have a long day ahead of us tomorrow."

"You're really serious about the whole countryside thing, Jack?" Owen moaned. "I hate the bloody countryside."

"We go where the job takes us," Jack answered.

"Yeah, yeah. C'mon Tosh, let's get outta here." With a backward wave, both operatives headed toward the SUV, Owen getting into the drivers' seat and Toshiko into the back. With the roar of the powerful engine, they drove off, leaving the three of them standing next to Ianto's car.

Jack ushered Estelle into the back of the car, taking the passenger seat. Ianto climbed in behind the wheel, and pulled them away from the curb.

The captain was silent, processing what had happened in Roundstone Wood. It could have gone so badly, and he wished too late that he hadn't agreed with Ianto's idea to take Gwen to see Jasmine. He wanted to ask what would have happened if she'd broken the Pact. He suspected he really didn't want to know.

Then he silently cursed, realizing that the fairy had given away his secret by calling him 'undying one' in front of Estelle. He hoped she hadn't noticed…

"You okay?" he turned slightly in his seat to look at his former lover.

"I'm fine," she answered, smiling. "Although I'll never look at my little friends the same way again. I had no idea that was what they really looked like." She chuckled. "Almost like Gollum from the "Lord of the Rings' movies, only not nearly as tragic."

Ianto laughed, but Jack was puzzled. "They made movies from the books?"

"You've never seen the movies?" Ianto asked, astonished.

"Well, someone has to watch the Rift when everyone else has time off," Jack growled, feeling left out.

"We're going to have to change that," the dragon said. "First free weekend…movie marathon. You…me…and the extended editions. No one leaves until all three movies are finished."

Jack wanted to grin like mad. Things were looking up for him and Ianto, if the dragon was inviting him for a weekend at his home. He really didn't want to read too much into it, but it was like a sign that things were going to be all right.

But first, he had to get this talk out of the way.

Ianto deserved the truth. The dragon had named him a friend, or more importantly a _dragon-friend_ , and Jack wanted to live up to that name.

He was quickly coming to the conclusion that Ianto was beginning to mean more to him than the Doctor, and the captain didn't know how to react to that.

A part of him wanted to push Ianto away once more, but the saner part reminded him that he'd done that once before, and it had led to this breaking of trust between them. Jack couldn't afford that again. He had to come clean, and tell Ianto the truth, and deal with the consequences of that.

Jack didn't doubt there would be consequences.

He glanced over at Ianto. His human profile was lit by passing streetlights, a small smile on his face at something Estelle was saying. The dragon caught his looking at him, turning to catch Jack's gaze. There was an unguarded happiness in his eyes, and Jack wanted nothing more than to keep that expression there. He didn't doubt he'd fail though, once he told Ianto everything.

It had to be done though. And it had to be done tonight, before Jack lost his nerve.

They dropped Estelle off at Ianto's, the dragon giving her run of the place while they were gone. He quickly packed a bag, then they drove back to the Hub in companionable silence. It was also in that same silence that they packed the SUV up for the trip to the Beacons tomorrow morning.

Afterward, they adjourned to Jack's office, where the immortal offered the dragon a glass of scotch. Ianto accepted, and they sat together, just enjoying the silence and the liquor.

They'd used to do this all the time, back before Canary Wharf. Jack had missed it without realizing it until that very moment, when he leaned back in his desk chair, watching Ianto sip from his glass. Every once in a while, the dragon would glance at Jack, and it should have been an opening to start telling him everything, but Jack didn't take any of them.

"I thought you wanted to talk," Ianto finally said.

"I do." Jack set his glass on the blotter. He smiled weakly. "Just a bit nervous, is all."

"You don't have to be around me, Jack. Whatever you have to say, I'm sure it will be all right."

_I wouldn't count on that_ , Jack thought.

And so, he began.

He started with his family, telling Ianto about where – and when – he came from. Some of it he'd already shared, but not the details; Jack spilled it all, including the attack on his colony and the loss of his brother, Gray.

He continued on with joining the army, then the Time Agency; up through the loss of the two years of his life, and his going rogue and becoming a conman. Jack felt so ashamed of what he'd done, and he knew that communicated itself to the Ianto by the look of sadness in his old, blue eyes.

His time with the Doctor and Rose was next, and he felt happiness returning as he shared some of their adventures. He set Ianto to laughing when he told the story of being at the mercy of the two androids on the Game Station, but that soon turned to shock when Jack got to the worst part: the Daleks, and how he'd led the battle against the invasion.

"The same Daleks that were at Canary Wharf?" Ianto asked, frowning.

"Yep," Jack answered. "They were my first death."

He spoke of knowing he was going to die, and facing the trio of Daleks with his arms outspread, accepting his death. Then he spoke of waking up, surrounded by little mounds of dust, and the sounds of the TARDIS leaving echoing in his ears.

"He left you?" Ianto was outraged.

Jack shrugged. "I'm sure he thought I was dead."

"He could have at least gone back to check!"

Jack's chest warmed at Ianto's anger on his behalf. "Maybe he did, and caught me before I'd resurrected. But anyway, I was on that space station surrounded by dust and death, so I did the one thing I could: I left."

He explained his coming to Earth, knowing that the Doctor was often there, and wanting to catch up with him, but landing in the wrong time. He went on about his second death, and his dawning realization that nothing could kill him for long. That was when he'd come to Cardiff, hoping to meet up with the Time Lord, and discover what answers he could about his 'condition'.

"Have you been waiting here this long?" Ianto wanted to know.

Jack nodded. "I've been hoping to come across a regeneration that I could interact with." He explained about how Time Lords could regenerate. "But so far…nothing. If I'd known he'd be at Canary Wharf, I would have gone myself." Maybe if he had, everything with Lisa could have been avoided…

"So…you're still waiting." It wasn't a question.

"Yep. I need to know, Ianto. I need to know what happened to me, if I'm really immortal or if this is going to wear off at some point. You know that hand I keep?" At the dragon's nod, Jack said, "That's his hand. I've built a Doctor detector, and when the hand starts to react I'll know he's here." He swallowed. "I'll have to go with him when he returns."

Pain sparked across Ianto's eyes, quickly hidden behind his usual, bland mask. "I…understand, Jack. And this explains so much…" He bowed his head, refusing to meet Jack's gaze. "You can't afford to get close to anyone, if you're going to…leave…"

"Ianto," Jack pleaded, leaning forward to try to catch a glimpse of what the dragon was feeling. "I've been waiting nearly one hundred years to get my answers. I can't afford _not_ to go with him."

Misery radiated from the dragon almost like a heat haze. "That's fine, Jack," Ianto said, his voice toneless. "We'll miss you, of course…but you have to find out why you're the way you are. We'll cope, don't worry about us."

Jack couldn't handle it any longer. For so long, he'd been looking forward to meeting up with the Doctor, to traveling with him once more. That was, until he met Ianto Jones, and then he'd known just how dangerous the dragon was to his intentions. He'd done everything in his power to push Ianto away, to keep him at arms' length, and it had taken what happened with Lisa to make Jack realize that the dragon meant more to him than he'd ever suspected.

He remembered that Tarot reading, the one that had set him on his path to Ddraig Llyn, and the dragon who sat before him, refusing to even meet his eyes. She'd known. She had to have known what would happen, and the Lovers card had come up.

Suddenly, Ianto stood. "Well, I should get some rest for tomorrow. I'll just go down to my hoard room. Thank you for telling me. Goodnight, Jack."

He was halfway to the door before Jack broke through his surprise and pursued him. Grabbing Ianto's arm, he stopped the dragon just as he was stepping over the threshold. "Ianto, stop. Please."

"I really should go, before I say something we'll both regret." He tried to pull his arm out of Jack's grasp, but the immortal held on.

"I didn't want to hurt you - "

Blue eyes snapped up to meet his, and Jack was rocked by the anger that he saw there. "Hurt me?" he laughed harshly. "Of course you hurt me. You _used_ me! And what's worse is that I _knew_ you would! Four times, she said. Four times you'd break my heart. I should have left then and there!"

Jack looked at the dragon in confusion. "She? Who told you…?" There was only one person Ianto could mean. "You spoke to the girl?"

"She approached me, and gave me a reading. I really thought I could break the curse…" Ianto took a deep breath, seemingly getting his emotions under control. "You should leave with him, Jack. When your Doctor comes, you should leave with him. I don't have any right to be angry, because you do need answers. And I really am glad that you told me, so we can be prepared when you do leave. Do you have any idea when that will be?"

Jack shook his head. "Only that it'll be sometime before the end of the decade."

"So it could be tomorrow…or three years from now. I'll need to prepare the proper protocols for the turning over of Torchwood to me – "

"Stop," Jack pleaded once more. He didn't want to hear this almost mechanical recitation of what would happen when the Jack left. He would have preferred the dragon still be angry with him, than this passive acceptance. "Yes, you're right…I'll need to go with him. But I swear to you, Ianto…I swear to you that I'll come back. I'll come back for you."

Jack knew in that moment that his time traveling with the Doctor was over. It had ended the moment he'd met a singing dragon on a mountain high over a peaceful valley, only he'd been too stubborn to accept it.

He would go for answers, but come back for Ianto Jones.


End file.
